Everskyward
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Everskyward
Are they not going to use the airplane for a year? How is that claim even logical? I would be dubious too.
The “what I did during quarantine” thread
- Thread starter Ted
- Start date
Acoustics that make an a'capella choir or a pipe organ sound great are terrible for modern music or for speech.
Architects, in my limited experience, are more interested in visual art than in practicality and sound engineering.
Jim Rosenow
Line Up and Wait
Exactly my thought....I don't know of anything that could be viable against new germs for a year (and if there was something I wouldn't want to be near it). I'll share their 'guarantee' when I see it.
Jim
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
Very true. Sermons were always interesting in my church growing up because of the sound acoustics.
My brother in law recently got a Doctorate in the acoustics of sacral spaces. His specialty seems to be designing modern sound systems for those churches where the acoustics in place effectively prevent hearing clearly - both spoken word and music. He is located in Central Europe (he lives in Zagreb). Now if everyone can get the virus out of the way, he might find some work...
-Skip
MBDiagMan
Final Approach
I don’t think a little silicone will fix these speaker cones.
View attachment 83913
I was certainly privileged with my musical upbringing. New York City is a great place for a musician in general. Aside from going to a church with a fantastic organ, organists are always eager to let other organists play whatever pipe organs they have access to. The acoustics of many churches in New York are also quite amazing.
Okay! Never mind!
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Check out TCL. They caught my eye a couple of years ago because their prices were fantastic, but I figured I'd wait and see for a while. When I was outfitting our new office at the airport, I asked our CEO about them because there's about a dozen of them scattered around the offices of his investment company, and he gave them the thumbs up, so I just bought a 65-incher in October. (BTW, I was *really* impressed with the mount I got for that one from Mounting Dream too - Fantastic product).
So, after doing a bit more research, I got a TCL 55R613 at Costco. $399, 4K/HDR, local dimming, and a built-in Roku. I bought an AppleTV to go with it as we have bought a fair amount of content from there, but it turns out Apple has an AppleTV app available on Roku now, so I returned the AppleTV.
Really impressed so far. Even the design of the box is well thought out, and the setup for the TV and Roku is all done at once, in a smooth, quick process. Definitely worth a look when you're in the market.
Nice! I've always thought that if I had a large pile of money, I'd have a place there. It's beautiful. I'm jealous that you can be on such a nice lake and still have your neighbors be so far away! Here, everything that's on a lake is packed in like sardines. Houses are almost as wide as the lots, and both houses and lots are narrow (50' or less for the lots!) so as to get as many lots with lake frontage as possible. Not really how I want to live - I have two acres and that's about my minimum!
I don't think there's anything that can kill viruses/bacteria for a year that wouldn't also kill the humans...
Everskyward
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My water damage repair is finally done, so now I can put my kitchen, living room, and dining room back together. Yes, home construction and repair is considered an essential service, and I stayed in a different part of the condo than the workers. I also need to do a thorough cleaning and disinfecting.
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SoonerAviator
D
Word of advice, don't by a "smart" tv based off of the apps it includes. The manufacturers are unlikely to update the apps once they're rolled-out in the firmware, so they may not work a few years down the road. It's best to let a TV be a pure monitor for most part, and use a standalone Roku/FireTV/Apple TV to work as the streaming agent since they will support their own hardware to keep you using it. They can keep their "smart" tv functions as far as I'm concerned.
Word of advice, don't by a "smart" tv based off of the apps it includes. The manufacturers are unlikely to update the apps once they're rolled-out in the firmware, so they may not work a few years down the road. It's best to let a TV be a pure monitor for most part, and use a standalone Roku/FireTV/Apple TV to work as the streaming agent since they will support their own hardware to keep you using it. They can keep their "smart" tv functions as far as I'm concerned.
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Ain't that the truth!
I got married at my in-laws' church which has a very nice pipe organ, and an absolutely fantastic organist to go with it. And at our wedding, the thing that came closest to letting tears slip from my eyes was the music he played.
When we go there for regular services, they always have something in the program about not applauding after musical performances - But at the end of the services, nobody leaves during the postlude because they want to see him play, and there's often a rousing cheer when he's done. He's one of those supremely talented musicians that only uses notes on the page as a general guide, and plays what he feels... And that translates beautifully through the instrument and makes you feel it too.
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Normally I would agree with you. I've even had a TV where the guide function quit working after a mere year because Sony switched service providers!
But, this wasn't included on the TV. It was downloaded from Roku's "Channel Store" during the setup process, along with about a dozen others. Unless Roku stops developing their OS (unlikely, as they are the leader in that space), I'm fairly confident I'll be able to get updates to the app. I'll let you know when I see the first one!
BTW, the one drawback of the app vs. the hardware so far: No AirPlay, at least not as far as I can tell.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
That's really how you're supposed to play. The composers got the notes right, but just like reading a book (perhaps acting in a play would be a better analogy), if you simply read what's written without any emotion, it will be significantly more bland.
Exactly! Musicians aren’t typists. And it’s impossible to capture in musical notation every nuance of expressive phrasing.
I’m a guitarist. There are multiple locations on the fretboard to play a given note. Notes can be sounded with a pick (what thickness?), finger tips, fingernails, hammer-ons, slides, bends, etc. And the location where a string is plucked matters (near the bridge vs near the neck). Infinite combinations and variations, few of which can be represented by mere notes on a staff. Plus all the variations in emphasis, timing, etc.
What is more likely to happen is that the hardware running the Roku goes obsolete as the OS goes up in versions. After all, there was probably some lag between the time the hardware running the Roku got spec'ed and the time that the rest of the TV got designed. Swapping out an old $50 standalone Roku device for a newer one is a lot less painful than swapping out a big Roku-based TV for a newer one.
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
True... But if nothing else, it has delayed the need to buy the hardware for now, so if it does eventually stop working, I can buy whatever hardware AppleTV is out at that point.
I was pretty much planning on needing to return this one within the 90-day window, as there's already indications that a newer one is imminent.
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SoonerAviator
Gotcha. I haven't made the jump to 4K yet, so I haven't had to deal with it (still rocking the 720p Plasma
). I do have a fairly new high-end Denon AVR which does all the legwork from the various sources for me. We have a 4K FireStick in the living room which works extremely well for combining all of the content providers, and we use an old Roku in the master bedroom for the rare occasion we decide to watch Netflix/SlingTV/Prime in there. I've been waiting on upgrading the living room until I get an interior renovation project done which would affect where the TV would be mounted as well as running a bunch of the speaker wire behind the walls/ceiling for the surround sound. I have an AVR capable of throwing out 11.2 channel audio, and I have 7.1 worth of speakers, but am currently on a 3.1 setup, lol. I'll probably end up with a 65-70" OLED when it's all said and done.Well, it does bother me a bit that the obsolete hardware is burning up power and buttons on the remote, but that's probably just my OCD talking.
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SoonerAviator
Yeah that's what I was getting at. I had that problem with the first Amazon FireStick which used to occasionally freeze up and certain apps would no longer work well. Went out, got the updated 4K-version and, viola! No problems or lag, and everything worked faster than the original ever had. Much easier to swap peripherals and continue on, then try and mess with onboard firmware/hardware.
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
Exactly! Musicians aren’t typists. And it’s impossible to capture in musical notation every nuance of expressive phrasing.
I’m a guitarist. There are multiple locations on the fretboard to play a given note. Notes can be sounded with a pick (what thickness?), finger tips, fingernails, hammer-ons, slides, bends, etc. And the location where a string is plucked matters (near the bridge vs near the neck). Infinite combinations and variations, few of which can be represented by mere notes on a staff. Plus all the variations in emphasis, timing, etc.
There's different levels of it, though. "Level 1" would be playing the notes and rhythms on the page and adding expressiveness via other means, depending on the instrument.
When I said he uses the notes as a general guide, I mean he's playing with notes and rhythms as well as all the gadgetry available on the instrument. Doing that in real time, playing as many notes simultaneously as one can on an organ, is pretty impressive. At least to this one-note-at-a-time-instrument player.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
When I said he uses the notes as a general guide, I mean he's playing with notes and rhythms as well as all the gadgetry available on the instrument. Doing that in real time, playing as many notes simultaneously as one can on an organ, is pretty impressive. At least to this one-note-at-a-time-instrument player.
As an organist (well, retired... I can’t say my current skill set is worthy of the title), I’ll say that, once again, that’s how you’re supposed to do it.
MauleSkinner
Touchdown! Greaser!
Having lived in the town where my church body’s college is, there are some extremely talented music/organ professors who accompanied church services. While I appreciated it as preludes, postludes, and offertories, I thought the hymn intros occasionally resembled “Flight of the Bumblebee” more than they resembled the hymn.There's different levels of it, though. "Level 1" would be playing the notes and rhythms on the page and adding expressiveness via other means, depending on the instrument.
When I said he uses the notes as a general guide, I mean he's playing with notes and rhythms as well as all the gadgetry available on the instrument. Doing that in real time, playing as many notes simultaneously as one can on an organ, is pretty impressive. At least to this one-note-at-a-time-instrument player.
flyingcheesehead
Touchdown! Greaser!
As an organist (well, retired... I can’t say my current skill set is worthy of the title), I’ll say that, once again, that’s how you’re supposed to do it.
If you're really good, yes.
Put it this way. I haven't heard a better organist outside of a symphony hall.
That's one thing he doesn't do - Intros are very clear.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
If you're really good, yes.
Put it this way. I haven't heard a better organist outside of a symphony hall.
And to be clear, I'm not doubting he's very good, either.
Again, I was spoiled growing up where I did from a musical perspective.
Craig
Cleared for Takeoff
For me, the organ opened up fully with Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor going followed by Also Sprach Zarathrusta by Richard Strauss makes a nice showing of any organ and it’s installation. Last couple of years in high school, my hangout place was Pipe Organ Pizza in Houston. Entertainment was the 34 rank theater organ at lunch time and after 6 pm evenings.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
More things accomplished:
- Some wiring on the lighting for our koi ponds
- Cleaned up some of the wood chunks that were in the runway path area
- Fixed my bicycle (bent one of the wheels on it 8 or 9 years ago, was given a new wheel about 7 years ago, finally got around to getting a gearset that matches it and putting it all back together)
- Installed a new brake switch on the XKR, which should (haven't driven it to confirm) get rid of the amber warning of "Failsafe engine mode - check rear lights". Weirdly, the brake switch has two microswitches in it, one for the lights and one for the cruise control and ECU stuff. Unnecessary complexity if you ask me, but whatever.
- Mocked up the new exhaust for my Ram, hope to weld that together tomorrow (need an exhaust clamp to show up before it's officially done)
You might call it a "cat-back" exhaust:
Neither of the power headrests go up and down on the XKR - the motors work but the part that transfers the torque from the motor to the headrests is stripped. This is a common problem and a simple fix - so I think that will be on the list as well. Once I do that and put in the new rear view mirror (on backorder) the XKR will be fully up to snuff. Might do another flush of the fluid in the transmission pan.
After the XKR is fully up to snuff the GL550's check engine light is probably up for examination. And, of course, continued bulldozing and work on the Cobra. (actually quite deficient in that).
- Some wiring on the lighting for our koi ponds
- Cleaned up some of the wood chunks that were in the runway path area
- Fixed my bicycle (bent one of the wheels on it 8 or 9 years ago, was given a new wheel about 7 years ago, finally got around to getting a gearset that matches it and putting it all back together)
- Installed a new brake switch on the XKR, which should (haven't driven it to confirm) get rid of the amber warning of "Failsafe engine mode - check rear lights". Weirdly, the brake switch has two microswitches in it, one for the lights and one for the cruise control and ECU stuff. Unnecessary complexity if you ask me, but whatever.
- Mocked up the new exhaust for my Ram, hope to weld that together tomorrow (need an exhaust clamp to show up before it's officially done)
You might call it a "cat-back" exhaust:
Neither of the power headrests go up and down on the XKR - the motors work but the part that transfers the torque from the motor to the headrests is stripped. This is a common problem and a simple fix - so I think that will be on the list as well. Once I do that and put in the new rear view mirror (on backorder) the XKR will be fully up to snuff. Might do another flush of the fluid in the transmission pan.
After the XKR is fully up to snuff the GL550's check engine light is probably up for examination. And, of course, continued bulldozing and work on the Cobra. (actually quite deficient in that).
denverpilot
Tied Down
CFI renewal done. Back in the League of Temporary Airmen.
Online FIRC timers are retarded. 20 minutes of reading and 25 minutes of watching something on the iPad while occasionally moving the scroll wheel on the machine. LOL. Seriously.
And I got one question wrong and knew it when I clicked it.
The most painful module was the one that’s just all screenshots of IACRA. “Here’s how websites work. Click on things.” That one wasn’t useful. Unless you’re like 70 and suck at computers. Ha. Sorry.
The Wings module was also painful if you’re already a proponent and know how it works. I get it they use FIRCs as a rah rah for things, but gah... it’s basically a 45 minute infomercial with web browser screenshots.
But in all, good reg review, good reminders about other stuff, and overall a good experience. They barely make a hand wave at multi engine stuff once in the whole thing. It probably needs some customization to what instructor ratings you hold, if the process ever gets a revamp.
Quite a bit of the material comes straight from knowledge modules in Wings I noticed also. If you’re doing those on any regular basis you’re ahead of your CFI if they only do them in their online FIRC.
Most of us around here tend to stay abreast of things so I can see this process helping drag along folks who don’t and only see stuff at renewal.
It would actually make sense to link Wings CFI participation into FIRC credit. Same material.
Online FIRC timers are retarded. 20 minutes of reading and 25 minutes of watching something on the iPad while occasionally moving the scroll wheel on the machine. LOL. Seriously.
And I got one question wrong and knew it when I clicked it.
The most painful module was the one that’s just all screenshots of IACRA. “Here’s how websites work. Click on things.” That one wasn’t useful. Unless you’re like 70 and suck at computers. Ha. Sorry.
The Wings module was also painful if you’re already a proponent and know how it works. I get it they use FIRCs as a rah rah for things, but gah... it’s basically a 45 minute infomercial with web browser screenshots.
But in all, good reg review, good reminders about other stuff, and overall a good experience. They barely make a hand wave at multi engine stuff once in the whole thing. It probably needs some customization to what instructor ratings you hold, if the process ever gets a revamp.
Quite a bit of the material comes straight from knowledge modules in Wings I noticed also. If you’re doing those on any regular basis you’re ahead of your CFI if they only do them in their online FIRC.
Most of us around here tend to stay abreast of things so I can see this process helping drag along folks who don’t and only see stuff at renewal.
It would actually make sense to link Wings CFI participation into FIRC credit. Same material.
Mostly worked. I typically work at the office everyday. Now I am working from home everyday. So is my wife and she normally goes to the office daily too. Seems very odd.
Work is still getting done. Most of my teammates work from home 3 days a week normally, so this is just a minor change for them. We may have some challenges with our offshore teammates as India doesn't have the best VPN set-up, a big part of that is they don't all have the best internet connections at home. That could put a wrinkle in our work over the next few weeks.
We had people lined up to do work at our home and had them do it. First of that was before the "stay at home" decree. A couple of guys just painted the bathroom we were having them remodel. It will be two or three weeks until the cabinet they are building (waiting on the doors) will be finished and ready to install. They've been great and keeping their distance. We haven't been using that bathroom during the remodel and will now need to clean it, and yes that includes some cleaner with bleach in it.
The rain has slowed down so I've started running and biking. We just closed today on the sale of our prior home, and we were doing some minor clean-up and such there, so now I'll have more time. The closing was odd in that we all stayed in our cars and the legal team brought us gloves, flat FedEx boxes (our "desk") and carried docs around while wearing N95 masks. No sitting around a table, just sitting in our cars signing docs.
Work is still getting done. Most of my teammates work from home 3 days a week normally, so this is just a minor change for them. We may have some challenges with our offshore teammates as India doesn't have the best VPN set-up, a big part of that is they don't all have the best internet connections at home. That could put a wrinkle in our work over the next few weeks.
We had people lined up to do work at our home and had them do it. First of that was before the "stay at home" decree. A couple of guys just painted the bathroom we were having them remodel. It will be two or three weeks until the cabinet they are building (waiting on the doors) will be finished and ready to install. They've been great and keeping their distance. We haven't been using that bathroom during the remodel and will now need to clean it, and yes that includes some cleaner with bleach in it.
The rain has slowed down so I've started running and biking. We just closed today on the sale of our prior home, and we were doing some minor clean-up and such there, so now I'll have more time. The closing was odd in that we all stayed in our cars and the legal team brought us gloves, flat FedEx boxes (our "desk") and carried docs around while wearing N95 masks. No sitting around a table, just sitting in our cars signing docs.
MauleSkinner
Touchdown! Greaser!
More and more “normal” things start looking like a drug deal in a parking lot.
denverpilot
Tied Down
More and more “normal” things start looking like a drug deal in a parking lot.
If you’re pulled over by a cop here, all you have to do is say you’re getting pot and they let you go! LOL.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
More quarantine progress:
- drained and refilled the transmission fluid in the XKR’s pan. Before I just did the pan and filter, but that doesn’t get close to all of it. This got another 4 quarts and I’m more convinced I have the level correct now. The transmission shifts better
- fixed the power headrests on the XKR. That involves cutting the sheathing around the cable that connects the motor to the headrest (basically a speedometer cable) and then using shrink wrap to put it back together. The design produced the cables 12 mm too long so the cable ends up not engaging with the motor
- cut down two more dead trees on the property
- cleaned up a bunch of cut down trees and limbs with the front end loader - probably 15-20 loads to the burn pile. Looks way better now
- got 3 more trees out of the ground (two I’d started on previously and weren’t hard), then proceeded to work on filling in holes I’d made while digging up trees and smoothing/grading things a bit. Still have a good bit more trees to remove and obviously this isn’t close to the final grading, but it’ll help with drainage and keeping things more navigable
Tomorrow when my shipments arrive I can put the exhaust clamp on the trucks exhaust to finish it up and put the new rear view mirror on the XKR.
- drained and refilled the transmission fluid in the XKR’s pan. Before I just did the pan and filter, but that doesn’t get close to all of it. This got another 4 quarts and I’m more convinced I have the level correct now. The transmission shifts better
- fixed the power headrests on the XKR. That involves cutting the sheathing around the cable that connects the motor to the headrest (basically a speedometer cable) and then using shrink wrap to put it back together. The design produced the cables 12 mm too long so the cable ends up not engaging with the motor
- cut down two more dead trees on the property
- cleaned up a bunch of cut down trees and limbs with the front end loader - probably 15-20 loads to the burn pile. Looks way better now
- got 3 more trees out of the ground (two I’d started on previously and weren’t hard), then proceeded to work on filling in holes I’d made while digging up trees and smoothing/grading things a bit. Still have a good bit more trees to remove and obviously this isn’t close to the final grading, but it’ll help with drainage and keeping things more navigable
Tomorrow when my shipments arrive I can put the exhaust clamp on the trucks exhaust to finish it up and put the new rear view mirror on the XKR.
flhrci
Final Approach
that took some work!
flhrci
Final Approach
Without watching that, it might make me worse.
It's very well done, but it depends on what you like.Without watching that, it might make me worse.
Stan Cooper
Pattern Altitude
Finally getting the garage organized so we can get both cars inside. Fabricating the wiring harness for my ADS-B installation. Spending more time writing my Operation Safe Pilot book.
All in all, catching up on a lot of stuff I had been putting off.
All in all, catching up on a lot of stuff I had been putting off.
azure
Final Approach
I must be in a weird mood, because I couldn't stop laughing.
Ted
The pilot formerly known as Twin Engine Ted
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iFlyNothing
Looks great. By comparison, my bulldozer has lost a bit of mud from the last time I used it... but still needs to be powerwarshed... badly.